USDA probing possible case of mad cow disease WASHINGTON...

March 12, 2006

USDA probing possible case of mad cow disease WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Agriculture Department is investigating a possible case of mad cow disease, the agency's chief veterinarian said Saturday. A routine test indicated the possible presence of mad cow disease, said John Clifford, the USDA official. The agency would not say where the animal was from. The department is conducting more detailed tests at its laboratory in Ames, Iowa, and should have results in four to seven days. "This inconclusive result does not mean we have found a new case of BSE," Clifford said, giving the abbreviation for the disease's formal name, bovine spongiform encephalopathy. "Inconclusive results are a normal component of most screening tests, which are designed to be extremely sensitive," he added in a statement. The cow did not enter the human or animal food chain, Clifford said.